O Brother, Where Art Thou?
by BroccoBeef
Summary: Hayden James is about to find out he has a famous brother. His name is Harry Potter, and he needs help. Voldemort survived, due to a Horcrux being left in Ginny. Hayden has to go back in time and help the Golden Trio from the encounter at Tottenham Road. How will they get Ginny to die alongside Harry? (J.K. owns everything, though it would be nice if it was mine)
1. Prologue

Prologue: Remember When It was Easy? (2006)

Taking a deep breath of air, Hayden made his way through the courtyard of the Salem Institute of Magical Beings (St. Louis). He couldn't help but to smile at the thought of getting to his office after a long day of teaching. The kids always had the most energy on the first day. It was only a short walk to his office, and soon he was kicked back in his office chair. One of his favorite places to relax, his office was small but cozy. His favorite part was the view out of the window behind his desk. You could see the St. Louis Arch towering over the river, and it was a sight to behold. At that very moment, the sunset gave the sky a purple glow, which added on to the awe effect. He also couldn't help but to catch a glimpse of his reflection in the same window. He had short unruly black hair and bright blue eyes that seemed endless. His girlfriend, Harmony, had convinced him to get contacts last year, allowing her to enjoy them even more.

"I thought I'd find you here. You ready for dinner?" a woman said from his doorway. She was a woman of average height that had shoulder length bushy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Hayden quickly had a huge smile on his face as he met her gaze. Warmth spread throughout his body as their eyes met. He hadn't met another woman that could do this to him.

"I was just thinking of you. Couldn't keep away from me, could you?" Hayden chuckled and got up out of his chair, walking around his desk to the spot where she was standing.

"Seeing as you owe me dinner, no I couldn't. A girl needs to eat, you know. I was thinking of pizza." She met him halfway and pulled him into a small kiss. He pulled away with a big grin on his face.

"Sounds like a plan. I have to run over to my place first to drop off some things. We can't be too long though. I have a lot of grading to do already." He quickly threw some papers into a small briefcase he always carried, transfigured it into a half-dollar, and stuck it in his pocket.

"The school year just started! You need to lighten up on those kids. Sooner or later they're going to turn against you. And you already know you aren't going to be home tonight. I had other things in mind" She made her way over to him and kissed him yet again, this time more vigorously. Hayden couldn't help but kiss her back, picking her up and carrying her over to his desk. She nibbled on his bottom lip, slipped out underneath his arms, and walked back toward the door.

"Meet me at Cicero's in 30? Shouldn't take you too long, right?" She winked and Disapperated before he could answer. Shaking his head, he made sure he had everything before Apparating to his apartment. As he arrived he walked straight up to his bedroom to grab a few things before heading out. Opening the door to his room, he noticed a small owl sitting on his bed. Looking toward his window, he noticed it was wide open, a slight breeze making its way through.

"How in the hell did you get in here?" He quickly whipped out his wand and scanned the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. After a good sweep through, he closed and locked the window with a flick of his wand. The owl was staring at him intently, flying over to the table next to him. It stuck out its leg and he noticed a small letter tied to it. Slowly he untied the letter and opened it up.

_Dear Mr. James,_

_First you might want to get a bowl of water for Gwyneth there. She gets pretty pissy after a long flight._

At that moment, the owl pecked at his hand a couple times, and ruffled her feathers. Hayden quickly transfigured a pencil he had in his pocket into a bowl, and filled it with water with a quick _Aguamenti_. He then returned to the letter:

_Let me get straight to it. My name is Geoffrey Jones and I work for Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley, London. We have come to the attention that you have some items left for you here in your brother's vault. We need you to travel here immediately to claim such items, as this vault is soon to be closed for good. Included in the envelope is a business card. Precisely 10 minutes after breaking the seal to this letter, that card with turn into a Portkey, allowing you to travel directly here. Please bring a small overnight bag with you just in case the business isn't taken care of in one day. We look forward to seeing you soon._

_Geoffrey Jones  
Department of Inheritance and Trusts _

Hayden sat the letter down and found a seat for himself. _Brother?_ _He didn't have a brother, did he_? Checking his watch, he noticed he had about 3 minutes left before the Portkey was active. He quickly jumped up and grabbed the overnight bag he had already started packing, seeing as he was going to Hanna's anyway. In the process of making his way back to the table, he sent a message to Harmony via Patronus, asking for a rain check. He'd explain everything to her later. This seemed pretty important. After making sure everything was in the bag, the business card began to glow blue, and he quickly grabbed onto it before feeling a sickly tug around his belly button. As the room began to spin away, he wondered why the British still traveled like this. Airplanes were perfectly fine.

Hayden quickly snapped out of the daydream he was in as he sipped a small cup of coffee from a café on Tottenham Court Road. He would have plenty of time to reminisce later.

_They should be arriving soon. First on the list is to subdue the two Death Eaters that come in minutes after they do. Then the rest is all up to me. _As if on cue, two teens rushed into the café and quickly made their way into a booth on the far side, the girl taking a little longer to slip into her seat. Hayden slowly slipped his wand from his holster, pulled his cloak over his head and waited patiently, while trying to catch any part of the conversation he could.

"…but to find out what's going on!" The red head, Ron if he remembered the name right, was talking now. They both looked extremely nervous.

"We know what's going on! Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?" The young woman, Hermione looked absolutely skittish. That's when his heart skipped a couple of beats. He couldn't believe his eyes. _Harmony? _

Hayden snapped out of yet another daydream as two rugged looking workmen walked in and sat in the booth next to them. _Any time now gentlemen, _Hayden thought. He watched the waitress take two cups of coffee to Ron and Hermione and then walk over the new patrons. They quickly waived her away while keeping an eye on the teens. At the same time, both men drew their wands and pointed them at the two teens. Hayden jumped up and with a quick wave of his wand disarmed both men. Directly after that, Hayden heard "_Stupify_!" and watched as a red streak of light traveled from behind Hermione into one of the men. _That must be Harry_. The other Death Eater had jumped up to lunge at Hayden, but before he could move an inch he was instantly caught in a Body-Bind curse from Hermione. She quickly covered all of the windows in the café with a flick of her wand, while Ron pulled out a small, lighter sized device and seemed to steal some of the light in the room.

"Drop your wand. I would hate to add another body to this mess." Harry had made his way behind Hayden during the scuffle. A huge grin flashed over Hayden's face as he slowly retracted his wand into back into his holster.

"No reason to be hostile with me, Harry, I'm here to help. You can take off your cloak too. It would be nice to see you in person." Hayden said with a slight chuckle.

Harry then ripped off his cloak, a look of fear and anger in his eyes. "Who sent you? We've never seen you before."

Hayden couldn't help but laugh as he pulled down his hood. "You did, Harry. Can't you recognize your own brother?"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: There's A First for Everything (1997)

"Brother? I don't have a brother! Seriously, who are you?!" Harry had shoved his wand into Hayden's neck, a glow of red surrounding the tip.

Hermione was the next to talk, saving the man from the Stinging Hex Harry had willed to sit at the end of his wand.

"Hold on, Harry. Look at him a second." She walked over and grabbed Harry's arm, lowering it to the ground. Harry took a closer look at the man and couldn't help but to gasp. He looked almost exactly like Harry's father, James. There was a bit of a difference in the shape of his face and his eyes were a bright blue, but other than that, it was like looking at a mirror.

After a few minutes Ron stepped forward and stated the obvious. "He almost looks exactly like you, mate! The eyes are different though." Hermione scoffed and turned toward him.

"I think we've covered that, Ronald. Can you be any denser?" She then snapped around to the man Harry was still having a hard time_ not_ staring at. "Can we ask your name? Or is that too much?"

Hayden nodded while keeping eye contact with Harry. "You can call me Hayden. You ok there Harry?" Harry realized he hadn't taken a breath since he gasped, and was feeling light-headed. "I'll tell you guys more later, but first we need to clean up this mess. Hermione, something tells me you're good with Memory charms. You take care of the waitress in the back. I'll take care of these two Death Eaters myself. Harry, Ron, you guys can take care of cleaning up the store here."

Harry only nodded and began putting chairs back into place and rearranging tables with his wand. Ron just kind of kicked a few chairs around and picked some cups off of the floor. Hermione made her way back into the kitchen, while Hayden had started wiping the memories of the two Death Eaters. Their eyes went glossy and Hayden looked extremely focused. Harry could only stand and watch as he flawlessly worked his magic. Hermione soon made her way back into the dining area, as Hayden finished up with his job. He then turned around and spoke to all three of them.

"Alright, first thing's first. I believe you have a safe place for us to go? Don't look at me like that, I know about everything else too. We'll get into that once we get hidden." Harry was speechless. How did he know about Sirius' house? Only family and close friends knew the Secret. _That could be a good thing, right?_

"Once we get there, I'll explain everything. It's going to be a long night. Shall we?" He held out his arm for Hermione to take as he nodded to Harry and Ron. With a crack he was gone. Ron turned to look directly at Harry.

"Bloody hell this day just keeps getting better, yea?" And with a crack he was gone. Harry couldn't help but to fully agree as he turned on the spot himself, Disapperating to the one place he didn't want to return to.

Hayden landed right on the staircase and opened the door in one fluid motion. Hermione could only stand with her mouth open. The feeling of Apparition was usually uncomfortable, but with Hayden, it was the smoothest trip ever. She was hoping that and other things would be answered soon as he stood waiting, holding the door open for her. She couldn't help but to meet his eyes as she stepped through the doorway. She felt something tug at her heart, something she'd never felt before.

Hayden felt the same thing. It was the same feeling he got when looking into Harmony's eyes. He heard two cracks in succession outside, which meant Harry and Ron had arrived with no issues. As everyone stepped inside, Hayden already had his wand out muttering spells. There was a rush of wind and a sound like someone had stepped on a twig.

"If I remember, Moody had set a Tongue-Tying Curse here for Severus, as well as another curse you don't want to know about…." Hayden put his wand away and began walking toward the sitting room. Harry finally got the nerve to speak.

"Are you going to explain who you are? This is all starting to get a little spooky." Hayden cracked another goofy grin. Hermione noticed how much he looked like Harry and couldn't help but smile herself.

"Come and have a seat in here. It's going to be a long night. What was that damn house elf's name….Kreacher!" He yelled for the house elf and was soon followed by a small pop.

"Yes Master Hayden?" Again, the teen's jaws had almost reached the floor. Kreacher was never this obedient. Something was definitely up here.

"Can you get us some food and drinks? I haven't had anything to eat in almost a day." Hayden again laughed as he threw his cloak on a nearby armchair. He then lay across the couch and kicked his feet up. He looked too relaxed for the situation.

"Right away Master Hayden, Kreacher aims to please the House of Potter." Even Kreacher looked surprised at the words coming out of his mouth as he walked out of the room.

Hayden motioned to the other chairs in the room. "Come on, I really don't feel like being up longer than we have to be. We are going to need as much sleep as we can get these next few days." He then stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out what looked like a small coin. He then tapped his wand to it, and it became an elegant looking briefcase.

"First things first, anything I tell you cannot leave this room. There are things and magic I will speak of that people are not ready to hear about. But just to be sure I need you each to swear not to speak of it….on your magic." The three teens looked at each other with a little fear in their eyes. A wizard or witch only needed to swear on their magic in dire circumstances. Hayden only gave them a slight nod as they took out their wands. After the three teens said their oath, although nervously, Hayden smiled yet again as he sat up to meet them face to face.

"Good. Now, from the beginning. My name is Hayden James, but as Kreacher also just pointed out, my name is also Hayden Potter. I've come from the future with a warning…and to help you, Harry." Harry was again speechless. _Future?_

Hermione actually managed to get Harry's question out of her mouth. "Future? We destroyed all of the Time-Turners a few years back. And even then that doesn't allow you to travel such far distances over time."

Hayden could only nod and continue. "You're right there, but the answer will come soon enough. The only thing I can really tell you is that I'm from America. Everything else is much more difficult to explain. After my 38th birthday, I was sent a letter from a man named Geoffrey Jones. He worked for a department in Gringotts that dealt with inheritances and trust funds. In the letter, he said I had inherited some things that belonged to my brother, and my presence was requested as soon as possible. I ended up in the lobby of Gringotts within 10 minutes of opening the letter. I was under the impression I was an only child." He paused for a second, before reaching into his briefcase. He then pulled out a small bowl. "This is a newer version of the Pensieve, from my time. It can project memories directly into the room, instead of having to go into it. And with that I'll start here." He tapped his wand to his temple and pulled a silver strand of memory away. He then pointed his wand directly at the bowl and said "_Projectus."_ The memory shot into the top of the bowl and began to glow. Soon the room began to dissolve and turned into the catacombs of Gringotts, where the vaults lied. Harry recognized exactly where they were.

"This is Vault 687! My vault! How did you get access?" Harry was starting to get angry. This random man had claimed to be his brother, and now he was standing outside of his vault in the future.

"If you could hold on for just one second, Harry, everything is about to be explained."

Hayden looked at the small key in his hand and turned to the goblin. "Are you sure it's for me and no one else? My mother swore I was an only child."

The goblin only gave a curt nod and opened the Vault with the key he brought with him. Hayden swallowed hard and approached the Vault, holding on tightly to the small key in his hand. As the door opened, Hayden realized there wasn't much in here. Most of the shelves were empty and covered in dust. There were even a few empty chests that had a few silver, bronze and gold coins in them. Everything looked like it had been here a while. Except for one door that looked like it was recently added. There was a lock in the middle of the door, and Hayden's name was written in small golden letters right above it. The goblin turned and walked back out towards the cart, leaving Hayden alone to face whatever was behind the door.

Hayden walked up to the door, and inserted the key into the lock. With a slow turn, the lock clicked. Both the key and the door disappeared as a small room was revealed. In this room was a small pedestal, with a box, some small books and a thick envelope which had Hayden's name on it. He stepped into the room and there was a loud thud behind him. Hayden turned to find there was no door, only a wall now. Hayden quickly pulled out his wand to blast away the wall when he heard a voice much like his.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It could turn real nasty, especially since there is no way for help to reach you here." Hayden turned around to see a man that looked just like himself, only slightly more aged around the eyes. He then noticed those eyes were a deep emerald green.

"Well, I bet this is a surprise. Why don't you have a seat, Hayden? We have much to discuss." The man gestured to a chair that instantly appeared next to the pedestal. Hayden gladly accepted, already feeling dizzy from the current situation.

"Since we are a bit lax on time, I'll get right to it. My name is Harry Potter. There isn't another way of saying this, but I'm your brother." Hayden couldn't help but cough a bit. Brother? There was no way!

"We have the same father, James. Thanks to my father's journal he left behind, I found out about you. It seems he had a bit of a one-nighter before he married my mum. I guess you could call it a last second fling. I believe it was with your mother, Jennifer? When she found out she was pregnant, she sent our father a letter, letting him know. According to the journal though, she didn't survive after giving birth to you. Is that right?"

Hayden could only nod. He grew up without parents. He was raised by his grandparents that only kept him for the check they got every month. After learning of being a wizard at the age of 10, the closest man he had to a father now, and then Professor, Don Smith took him in. He never had to go back to that house again. He was soon enrolled in Salem Institute and was one of the top students. He graduated and was offered a job to teach younger students the basic subjects in magic. That's what he had been doing for the past six years.

"Although I'm not a fan of cheating, my mum didn't know about it. That saved her from some heart break. But let's get straight to business. You are my only hope. If you are sitting in this room, I'm dead. It turns out Voldemort didn't fully die. We missed a Horcrux. And damn it to hell if it wasn't right under our nose the entire time. Ginny Weasley had a sliver of Voldemort's soul lodged in her. None of this is probably making any sense to you is it?"

Hayden could only shake his head. Harry had lost him at brother. Harry then went into detail explain the hunt for the Horcruxes after his 7th year. He made sure to explain every one in minute detail so Hayden could remember. He then explained how the Battle of Hogwarts went. All of the deaths, the hunt for the Diadem, the last battle with Tom Riddle, and the alleged death of said man.

"We heard about this a bit over in the States, but I was too busy with school and other things to pay any attention to it." Hayden stated. He never really paid much attention to world news.

"Which is reasonable, given Voldemort was contained here in England. Or so we thought. We had about a year or two of peace, then my girlfriend Ginny just up and vanished; left without a trace. Checking with the Ministry, she took a Portkey to America and never came back. That was around the end of August 2001. Then on September 11th, while walking through Muggle London, I caught a news feed on the telly in a department store. There had been some planes hijacked and crashed into some important towers over there. But that's what the Muggles saw. Any magical folk watching could see a red-headed witch on a broom, sending Fiendfyre through the building. It was Ginny. As she burned the first building, I noticed the dark mark appear in the smoke, and knew there I had failed. Voldemort's soul had completely changed her, and there was no coming back from that. After years of searching over in the States, I finally found her. She was causing havoc down near the Gulf coast, mainly in a place called New Orleans. After coming here and leaving this message for you, I confronted Voldemort. From there I can't tell you anymore, seeing as this is a memory. But I'm guessing I probably died. Pretty educated guess, don't you agree?"

Hayden was utterly speechless. The Twin Towers were destroyed by a witch? Even the magical people in the States only saw the planes hit the buildings. Then Hayden put the other piece together. Harry was a powerful Wizard, as was Voldemort.

"Holy shit! New Orleans? Recently I take it? A huge hurricane just hit down there, decimated multiple states and killed thousands. That was her? "

Harry hung his head and sighed deeply. "Yes, thanks to Voldemort's power, Ginny had become unstoppable. That's why you're here now. In the envelope is some information for you, as well as two letters for Ron and Hermione. Another one of those things is a new time spell invented by yours truly and one of my friends, Luna. It will allow you to travel back in time to where your body was on the day of August 1st, 1997. You'll remember everything we talked about here today and be able to take a certain amount of things with you. You will then have to make your way over to England as soon as possible and find us. Everything you need to know about that day is in that journal next to the box. Use that to help us defeat Voldemort completely. In the box a special wand. One of the sheets or parchment in there explains what it is more in detail, but it's going to take Hermione to explain it in simpler terms. I managed to get it out of harm's way before Voldemort could find it again. Are you still with me, there?"

Hayden could only nod. Did he really say to travel back to the past to help defeat Voldemort? The room was starting to spin a bit. He needed to sit down. That's when Harry laughed.

"You're already sitting down, buddy. It's a lot to take in, but it's the only way. You'll be leaving this time behind. No way to return. You'll have all the tools -

Hayden quickly interrupted. "Wait, you want me to just leave this life behind? You don't even know me! I'm finally happy! I'm in love! If I leave now, I may never find her again!" Hayden was standing now, shaking with a mixture of rage and fear.

Harry looked into Hayden's eyes for a moment and cracked a smile. "Well, call me Merlin himself. We always wondered where Hermione went after she broke it off with Ron. It looks like she went to the States." A picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared in the palm of Harry's hand and Hayden couldn't help but gasp a little. There standing with the two men, was a younger version of Harmony.

"You got lucky mate. She's one of a kind. Judging by the look on your face and your memories I can see, that's her, isn't it?" Harry asked? Hayden nodded slowly and sat back down. So much was happening so fast.

"So you're telling me that my Harmony is your Hermione? What are the odds of that?" Hayden threw up his hands in defeat. There couldn't be anything else to surprise him. "Guess that means I'm all in, huh? Don't have much of a choice though. It's not every day you get to go back in time and meet your brother. When do we start?

With a quick nod, Harry instructed Hayden to transfigure the jacket he was wearing into an old knapsack. "It seems like our father's skill for Transfiguration passed on to you." After doing that, Hayden placed all of the items and Harry's journal in the bag, except for the sheet of parchment with the time spell written on it. He then added his own items to the mix: a small half-dollar, his newly acquired wand holster, a newer model of the Pensieve, and a few changes of clothes from his overnight bag. Harry explained how to set up the spell and helped Hayden with drawing the runes needed on the floor. When everything was complete, the memory of Harry stepped forward and gave Hayden a hug. He then stepped back and began to disappear. Hayden continued staring at the place where Harry had dissolved. It was time. He walked into the circle of runes on the floor. As he turned on the spot to Apparate, he swung his wand in a circular motion over his head, and brought it down in a slash.

"_Portus Dimencionatus!"_

_A/N: _I plan on going back and working at bit at this chapter, but I just wanted to get it out there. If it catches interest, I'll keep up with it. I have about 4 chapters written as of this moment. If not, I'll update whenever I get around to it. Let me know what you guys think!


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